Top Law Schools in 2019

If you’re looking to study law, you may be finding it difficult to choose between the many thousands of prestigious law schools available around the world. Luckily, our latest law school ranking, one of the 43 subjects covered by the QS World University Rankings by Subject, should be able to help, showcasing the 300 strongest institutions for this field.

Read on to get an overview of the top universities for law in each world region, starting with a look at the top 10, or click here to view the full ranking.

Top law schools in the US & Canada

Of the 300 institutions featured in the ranking, 50 are found in the US, including 14 in the top 50. Outside of the top 10 above, other excellent law schools in the US include the University of Chicago (ranked 11^th), Georgetown University (17^th), University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (joint 23^rd) and the University of Michigan (27^th).

Heading north to Canada, there are 13 Canadian universities in this year’s law school ranking, including three in the global top 50: the University of Toronto (20^th), McGill University (22^nd) and the University of British Colombia (joint 37^th).

Top law schools in Europe

There are a whopping 141 European universities in the law school ranking, with the UK featuring most prominently with 34 entries. After the top 10, the UK’s strongest institutions for law are UCL (University College London) (joint 15^th), King’s College London (19^th), the University of Edinburgh (29^th), Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) (32^nd) and Durham University (joint 48^th).

Next up in terms of numbers is Italy, with 15 top law schools, including three ranked 51-100: the European University Institute, Sapienza University of Rome and Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna.

14 more of the world’s best institutions for law can be found in Germany, including two in the top 50: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (joint 35^th) and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (42^nd).

Heading to Spain, 13 institutions are included among the world’s best for law, comprising Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and Complutense University of Madrid in the top 100.

France meanwhile is home to nine top universities for law, including Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne in 25^th place, up five spots from last year.

The Netherlands has entrants in the law school ranking, with Leiden University and the University of Amsterdam both boasting top 50 spots (in 26^th and joint 40^th places, respectively).

Switzerland is next with eight representatives in the ranking, including ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, which climbed from 101-150 to 51-100, while Belgium has seven top law schools, led by KU Leuven, which went up five positions to rank joint 37^th.

Of Ireland’s five entries, Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin each claim top 100 positions, while Russia claims four representatives in the law school ranking, with Lomonosov Moscow State University leading the way at 51-100.

Looking at Scandinavia, there are three top law schools in Sweden, and two each in Denmark, Finland and Norway. Of these, the highest-ranked is Norway’s University of Oslo, ranked 51-100 for law.

Elsewhere, Austria, Poland, Portugal and Greece each have two universities ranked among the top 200 for law, while Hungary, Estonia, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Slovenia have one each. Of these, the highest ranked is Austria’s University of Vienna in the 51-100 range.

Top law schools in Asia

Of the 42 Asian universities in the ranking, 14 are found in China, including Peking University and Tsinghua University in the top 50 at joint 23^rd and 28^th respectively.

A further six of the world’s best institutions for law are found in South Korea, with Seoul National University up six places to rank joint 33^rd. Also with six entries is Japan, with University of Tokyo and Kyoto University both in the global top 50.

National Taiwan University (NTU) is the strongest of Taiwan’s four entrants at joint 46^th, while National University of Singapore (NUS) continues to be the top performer of Singapore’s three entrants at 13^th place.

Also with three representatives in the law school ranking is Hong Kong, including the University of Hong Kong in 18^th place, while the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is 39^th. A further two top universities for law are located in Malaysia.

And finally, Kazakhstan and Thailand are both new to the law school ranking this year, the latter with two entries.

Top law schools in Latin America

Latin America is represented by 25 institutions in the law school ranking, with Chile boasting the most entrants at eight, including the highest-ranked university for this subject in the region - Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (up four places to rank joint 40^th).

Brazil and Colombia each host six of the world’s top law schools, with Brazil’s Universidade de São Paulo up five places to rank 45^th for law, while Colombia’s top entry is Universidad de Los Andes Colombia, ranked in the 51-100 range.

Argentina and Mexico have two representatives each, including one in the top 50: Universidad de Buenos Aires for Argentina (ranked joint 50^th) and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) for Mexico (ranked joint 48^th). And finally, Peru has one entrant in the law school ranking: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (ranked 101-150).

Top law schools in Australia and New Zealand

19 more of the world’s top universities for law and legal studies can be found down under in Australia, including six in the top 50. After the University of Melbourne in the top 10, these are he University of Sydney (12^th), the University of New South Wales (UNSW) (14^th), Australian National University (ANU) (joint 15^th), Monash University (31^st), and the University of Queensland (UQ) (43^rd).

Meanwhile, New Zealand is home to four more of the world’s top universities for law, led by the University of Auckland in 44^th place.

Top law schools in Africa & the Middle East

And finally, looking firstly at Africa, South Africa has four representatives in the law school ranking, with the University of Cape Town continuing to lead the way at 101-150 (down from 51-100 last year). To the north, Egypt is home to one top law school, Cairo University, ranked in the 201-250 range.

And finally, Israel has two entrants in the ranking, led by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the 101-150 range.

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